The present invention relates to an improved device for holding bags, and particularly plastic or paper bags which are commonly found in retail establishments.
The vast majority of retail establishments supply bags to their customers for carrying their purchases from the stores. In the past, bags have been provided to the retailers in stacks, and the retailers have typically placed the bags in a cubby or some other compartment near the checkout counters. A problem existing with such loose packaging of bags is that the bags, and particularly plastic bags, tend to stick together and it is often time consuming for the person working at the counter to remove individual bags. Also, the bags tend to be pushed around and create a disorderly appearance behind the counter. To overcome this problem, it has been known to attach a large number of bags to a cardboard backing, so that the person at the checkout counter can simply pull a bag off of the pile when needed. However, again the problem of bags sticking to each other arises and cashiers spend a costly amount of time trying to separate the outermost bag from the remaining bags of the stack.
Another problem exists in that retailers typically house a number of differently sized bags under their counters. This is economical in that it does not waste materials by providing a large bag for a very small purchase. However, this causes problems in storing the number of different bags. Furthermore, it has been noted that cashiers will typically grab the closest bag to them regardless of size, and this often results in defeating the purpose of having multiple sized bags.
Therefore, there exists a need for a device which will hold bags in an orderly fashion and which will allow a counter person to remove a single bag quickly and efficiently.
There exists a further need for a device which allows an assortment of differently sized bags to be stored in an orderly fashion and which will encourage a cashier, counter person or otherwise to select the correct sized bag for the purchase.